Photography evaluation

My photography example

To finalise Unit 5 and apply all knowledge built up from the photography unit, I have taken a collection of 4 images under my theme of human vs nature. The genre of photography I have followed is landscape, with a human aspect interrupting in the frame. The idea initiated from my interest and passion in landscape photography. The concept of having something in the frame in all photos is an interesting aspect I include within my photography, with various messages that can be interpreted behind it. For example, in the collection of my photos, both from my planning photography and final collection there's usually a hand in the frame or a lens ball, in which the landscape is flipped upside down. This makes the photograph more interesting, and strikes messages making the photo deeper than what's seen, intertwining all aspects that make it meaningful, from the time of day taken, composition, lighting etc. All in which I have practised in a photography studio and when on location with Canon & Nikon cameras throughout the course of a year. The following categories describe further what I have learnt from the beginning of the year, developing throughout to my final end project.

Genres - 

Brandon Woelfel example

To begin within photography, a research task was conducted as to what themes and genres interested us. Though my interest was / is in landscape, portrait and travel photography, I initially was unaware of the rules typically used within that medium, for example rule of thirds and the horizon line, and other further composition rules such as framing, symmetry & patterns and depth/shallow depth of field. Learning about those rules and practising them on location had been insightful and affected aesthetically the way in which I saw my personal photography, when on location I had considered what my main subject would be and what angle I would stand at to capture it within the interlocking grid as part of rule of thirds, or the composition and difference between where the top sky was and bottom subject, this being a field or overview of a city from above as part of the horizon line. Being aware of these rules improved visuals I have, along with recognising the aesthetics of some photographers works and reasoning behind the composition. An example being Brandon Woelfels use of shallow depth of field in the example shown. 
The photographer may have wanted to blur the background to create the aesthetically Bokeh effect, possibly to represent the busy city life. The busy life concept interrupted by the main subject of the model, this being the main subject due to the foreground in focus. The photograph is composed in a visually pleasing way with the rule of symmetry. Learning about the various genres within photography such as editorial, portrait, landscape, fashion etc. has provided me with extensive ideas for future projects.

Research & photographers - 

Karl Shakur photography -  Opposite to Jim Zuckerman's size rule

I have conducted research behind my work, including photographers to support and develop ideas I have. Beginning photographers I had researched such as Mads Perch, Marthe Sobczak, and Brandon Woelfel under themes of Portrait and techniques including projection have expanded to Connor Franta, Karl Shakur, Chris Burkard, Jim Zuckerman etc. The change in photographers I have researched also have a change in theme. As I was more experimental and open with the photography I was researching, then becoming more direct for my final project to inspire and develop final ideas. Research behind photographers such as Connor Franta, using sources such as his book 'A Work In Progress' and the web itself. Ideas within his book that had inspired the main part of my final photography includes the information about his arm and how he likes to include this in the frame to label a section of himself into his photography, to symbolise a part of him in the frame. The composition of the hand in my final project whilst using the rule of thirds in my final collection of photos is inspired by this idea, though a different creative intention (explored under creative intention) along with Jim Zuckerman's composition and theory of size. His photography practises the idea of the human size and bigger landscapes (example) in the way that having a smaller human aspect does not make the landscape any bigger, rather both human and physical subjects are as important. When planning, my ideas were the same as Zuckerman's in the sense that I was not going to apply that similar 'rule' of size, rather that the physical and human aspect contradicted each other. (example shown as part of my final collection, in which the human side covers as much as the frame as the lights) However, research had been challenging in the planning stage of some practical tasks, e.g the practical task when using the photography studio for examples of Low-key photography. Researching photographers that specialised in the genre was difficult, however to help resolve this I could have used various other sources, e.g finding editorial photography magazines or photography books. 

My photography example

Concluding the research, the photographers that I have researched have impacted my ideas by allowing me to interpret reasoning behind their photographs by analysing elements such as their use of light, composition, time of day the photograph has been captured etc.therefore attempting to replicate the work to get a feel of the type of camera settings needed including F stops, ISO's and lens types, possibly used to capture a similar desired product. For future projects, I would like to expand in terms of contradicting different artists and comparing their views and my opinions and replications of this. Within my final project research, I found viewing how different photographers capture landscapes from deciding their main subjects and viewpoints / perspectives when capturing a shot, along with  thinking about the wider message behind the photo quite intriguing.   

Locations & lighting setups -
Practising the process of photography, under the genre chosen such as fashion or portrait, or street and landscape with the inspired research over the year has included various locations, this being out in central London or the photography studio. Within the studio, we have learnt various setups - 

Three point lighting, high-key photography, low-key photography- 
The traditional photography studio setup including the key / main light, giving the subject the most strength in light and can be used for contrasting photos, in the example that the other light, the fill light, is off or low. This can gives results of a rendered shadow across a models face, for example, a practical in which we learnt this technique alongside low-key photography (example) 

Photograph taken when learning
about Low-key photography

Though understood, I feel I still need to practise this technique in the studio with a black backdrop. Throughout photography, I feel that this technique would be suitable when expressing a models emotions through their facial expressions intertwined with contrasting highlights and shadows. Purposes of this to add depth behind the photograph. 
The fill light, placed opposite to the key light, is used to 'fill' shadows created by the contrasting key light. The key light may be brightest with this slightly dimmer, however throughout the year experimenting with practical tasks, I had experimented with adjusting the 1-6 dial settings. Lastly, the back light positioned down to view the main subject. The back light does not provide direct lighting, rather subtle highlights for the outline of a subject e.g the models hair. The back light separates the model from the backdrop. Other aspects that separate the model from the backdrop in techniques such as high-key photography is the poly boards and un-diffused lights, lights with no soft boxes around them, that reflect to the backdrop. In terms of high-key lighting, the backdrop turns completely white, infinity lighting therefore making the main focus the model. Practising this technique in the studio included advantages such as understanding the setup and ability to set the lights in the same composition, however challenges included the camera settings, adjusting and being knowledgeable when adjusting the ISO, along with how much light to let into the lens as part of aperture. To improve and expand my knowledge within photography, I would like to experiment more with technically adjusting the camera under high and low-key photography settings, though I feel confident in understanding the actual setup. 

Silhouette lighting- 

Learning about a further lighting technique under photography allowed an extensive understanding of using the studio and various techniques one can experiment with, using the equipment the studio has, such as the gel lights, soft boxes, vivders, poly boards silver photography umbrellas etc. Examples of using the soft boxes, vivider's and poly boards is silhouette lighting, where a white background is created using the light box with the outline and features of an individual in black. Intentions behind the photography being mystery into the individual, the idea that the shot may be close up with the human emotion through a facial expression not fully shown. I would create this aesthetic when my creative intention explores a sense of ambiguity. This lighting technique is one I have not practised with, an issue that I will improve for future projects being time management, to practise techniques I have not yet embarked on. Other time management issues including the process of booking the photography studio, this being a challenge at times along with ethical issues when on location - accidentally getting someone who does not want to be photographed in the frame or shooting in an off limits location for the aesthetic surrounding. 

Projection photography -

Projection photography

Within projection photography, I have a good view of the creative intention, reasoning as to why you may use projection photography and when, along with previous planning and research, for example for artists like Marthe Sobczak (example) Interesting how he projects onto human skin and the composition of these, the creative intention possibly reflecting what others see of the person, in comparison to who they are or further identity connotations. Within the practical tasks, I had practised how to setup using the projector,  however struggled in terms of getting the whole projected image to cover the backdrop. I understood camera techniques from using a lower ISO, this also provoking ideas of my own personal style in terms of using a lower ISO, linking to my personal photography of darker shadowed images to brighter lights in terms of night and street light photography, this further expanding contextual photography, contributing to ambitions of photography both in and outside the unit. 

Technical camera operation -
Initially beginning the year, I was unaware of the main elements in regards to photographing, this including the technical settings cameras have giving the end product of the photograph and affecting the aesthetically qualities of it. These including:

Aperture and F stops. Gathering the information of F stops - the higher the F stop the less light therefore smaller aperture and a higher f stop also meaning light only travelling in one direction, therefore creating depth of field and opposite to this, a wider lens allowing light to travel in every direction therefore meaning a blurred background, creating shallow depth of field was challenging to understand initially, however became more clear when practising with Nikon cameras. The concept of shallow depth of field created through the camera settings has helped me tell meanings behind photos, such as - (example) The F stop being between around 1.8 to 8 allows a large amount of light into the lens allowing the background to be adjusted and blurred, creating a purple bokeh effect. The concept including the idea of colour and size,though there are many blue/purple lights in the background, they're smaller and are under the bigger yellow/ orange bulb. The yellow possibly being brighter than the other lights period, or just the composition and idea of size making it look visually more important. The depth of field created through the cameras settings can therefore overall impact a photos intention. Learning about this from the beginning intrigued me, and further does as I would want to know what camera settings are used in order to create some style or sense of emotion, depending on the way in which the brightness may be or movement in the image. 

My photography

ISO 
Learning about the cameras sensitivity to light was less challenging  than aperture and F stops, and further striked ambitions of personal style. A lower ISO is what I typically would use as developed throughout the year, e.g in the example. Practical tasks focused on using 
ISO had been undertaken more on location than when using the photography studio, personally needing practise with adjusting the ISO in high-key and low-key photography studio lighting setups, this being a goal I have set for future photography studio practise sessions. Research I had conducted midway through the year in terms of ISO included the underexposed and overexposed noise/grain element. The idea that a higher ISO meaning a more noisy, brighter photo, possibly labelled as overexposed and a lower ISO, a darker photograph being underexposed. Overexposed and underexposed hold intriguing creative messages, viewing and connotating settings certain photographers may have used and reasons behind this- e.g for the aesthetical quality. 

My photography grain example

Shutter speed 
Alongside learning about aperture, I also learnt about shutter speed initially. The process in which controls how fast or slow light travels through the lens. Techniques experimented with shutter speeds that I have attempted on location include the blurriness of photos, however have not experimented with capturing fast movement. I also have aims of exploring more themes such as long exposure photography as further development from the year with a fast shutter speed, an example of a photographer specialising in this being Andrew Stawarz.
Adjusting the fractional shutter speeds can be important in situations such as capturing a single frame when a lot of movement, actions taken to capture the photograph making the image more powerful. I personally find shutter speeds challenging to understand out of the three main elements however researching and practising further will improve skills I hold. 


Using a Nikon:

Vertical composition 

Applying the elements of photography to using a Nikon camera included learning the settings of the camera and way around it. There were advantages and easier parts picked up on, 
through practising in the studio and playing around with settings 
including zooming and focusing when appropriate along with adapting to the difference between using manual and auto mode, however more challenging elements where improvement is needed in terms of locating shutter speeds and white balance. Smaller features I learnt included shooting in portrait, vertically. 

Creative intentions - Final project
Concluding my final project, the process of planning went well as I was able to identify photographers I enjoy viewing and able to apply their work to my creative intention, including messages of human elements vs nature and how this can be subtly done through capturing contrasting subjects. This being both metaphorically through my reasoning behind things like a human eye compared to brighter lights and the darkness of the human aspect compared to the more vibrant side. This carried out in other brighter light settings of my collection, the two images taken at golden hour sunset time. As planned, I wanted to use this time of day to make the photographs cinematically
 pleasing and give a golden, sunset glow. The arm behind one of the photographs links to Connor Frantas photography, this being an inspiration and including 
 an element of a human that isn't fully in frame. I have chosen the collection of 4 images, 2 taken horizontally and 2 taken vertically as I feel the layout will fit together. The 4 images are split into coupled pairs, the photos that have the similar lighting together. Learning the functions of a Nikon camera have improved, however I personally feel more practice is needed for Nikon cameras and I am confident with Canons. Using more techniques confidently such as rule of thirds and framing will occur in future projects as reflected off this project. The overall end product and lead up to do so has made me enjoy photography more, and given more contextual knowledge in terms of research and wider photographers / photography genres.

Post Photoshop editing -
Learning in Adobe Photoshop initially had been challenging and I feel as though I still need practise within the software. Minor edits have been made in my final collection, for example the sharpen tool for extra details of the lensball and photography adjustments, such as higher vibrance and lower brightness.